Another ceasefire treaty for Syria

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a ceasefire between Syrian opposition groups and the Syrian government starting at midnight.

The Kremlin statement came after Moscow, Iran and Turkey said that they were ready to negotiate a peace deal in the nearly six-year-old Syrian war.

The Syrian army announced a nationwide halt to fighting but said Daesh, ex-Nusra Front militants and all groups linked to them would be excluded from the deal.

Several rebel officials told Reuters that they had agreed to the ceasefire plan, but there was an uncertainty over which groups were included in the deal.

Talks on a ceasefire picked up momentum after last week, when Russia, Iran and Turkey said that they were ready to back a deal and declared to set out principles that everyone would obey.

Putin said that Syrian opposition groups and the Syrian government had signed a number of documents including the ceasefire that would take effect at midnight on the night of Dec 29-30.

“The agreements reached are, of course, fragile and need a special attention and involvement. But this is a notable result of our efforts by the defence and foreign ministries along with our partners in the regions,” Putin said.

He also said that Russia had agreed to reduce its military deployment in Syria.

WASHINGTON SIDELINED

The United States (US) has been sidelined in the recent negotiations and is not due to attend the next round of peace talks in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, a key Russian ally.

According to officials, its exclusion reflects the growing frustration from both Turkey and Russia over Washington’s policy on Syria.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the US could join the peace process once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Talks towards a ceasefire to end the conflict reflect the complexity of Syria’s civil war, with an array of groups and foreign interests involved on all sides.

The deal by Turkey and Russia to act as guarantors in the war comes despite their support of different sides in the civil war. Ankara has insisted on the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia.

Likewise, demands that troops from Hezbollah leave Syria may not sit well with Iran, another major supporter of Assad. Hezbollah troops have been fighting alongside Syrian government forces against rebels opposed to Assad.

Sources told Reuters that, under an outline deal between the three countries, Syria could be divided into informal zones of regional power and Assad would remain president for at least a few years.

HURDLES

Syrian rebel groups were due to hold talks with Turkish officials in Ankara on Thursday. A senior rebel official told Reuters this week that the groups were discussing the ceasefire proposal with Turkey, being negotiated with Russia.

They had rejected Moscow’s demand to exclude a rebel stronghold near the capital from any deal, said Munir al Sayal, the head of the political wing of Ahrar al Sham, whose group is involved in talks with Turkey.

Ankara supports the Free Syrian Army, a loose alliance of rebel groups, some of which it is backing in operations in northern Syria designed to sweep Daesh and Syrian Kurdish fighters from its southern border.

The US is backing the Syrian Kurdish YPG in the fight against Daesh in Syria, a move that has infuriated Turkey, which sees the YPG as an extension of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Ankara fears that advances by Kurdish fighters in Syria could inflame militants at home.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the US of supporting ‘terrorism’ in Syria, comments that Washington has dismissed as “ludicrous.”

“We, as Turkey, have been calling to Western nations for some time to not distinguish between militant organisations and to be principled and consistent in their stance,” Erdogan said in a speech on Thursday.

“Some countries, namely the United States, have come up with some excuses and overtly supported the organisations that massacre innocent people in our region. When we voice these, these gentlemen are bothered by it.”